Keronian Mystery Dungeon: Frog Style
by Meyoshi
Summary: The battle hardened Red Devil stumbles across a pink frog who claims nothing but the name Natsumi and the fact that she was once human. The two join forces to unlock the past and future, but in the shadows is a Pekoponian criminal who wants nothing more than to destroy both them and their world.
1. Yell to Make a Point

**Chapter 1: Yell to Make a Point. **

The room was small, cramped in both space and shadow. The solitary illumination came from a dingy lightbulb dangling slowly from the ceiling. The green frog beneath it paid no mind. He had work to do. Behind him sat a wooden desk stacked high with paper work, and in front of him stood a proud red frog whose stance spoke of nothing but rebellious irritation.

"Why do you keep killing the outlaws when it's not necessary?" The green frog sighed. He leaned against his chair, lacing his legs on top of the wooden desk. "You always kill them when we're supposed to hand them to the police."

"He deserved to die!" The red frog shouted. He slammed his hands into the desk with a sudden burst of aggression. The other frog fell off of his chair and onto his green ass with a yelp.

"Damn it Giroro," The green frog growled, getting back onto his feet. "I don't know what made you become so insubordinate. You are working for me and you should follow the rules."

His tone was still quiet, but rising in both anger and volume steadily. "You're not supposed to kill the outlaws! You're supposed to capture them and bring them here so we can give them to police officer Taruru!" The last words came in a shout as he slammed his own hands down. He hoped to have the same effect Giroro had, but, of course, being our beloved Sarge, he failed to do so.

Giroro countered his Sarge's dig with one of his own.

"The only reason I joined up was to do something and hope to find someone worthy of my level! You even said I would have a chance to fight someone like that if I joined your stupid guild!" Giroro retorted.

"I only killed the outlaw because he'd killed someone else! An eye for an eye. And a waste of time it was, too, Keroro. You've got to stop giving me these worthless jobs! Call me when you find a real S class mission!" Giroro didn't give Keroro a chance to respond to anything but his back as he stalked form the room.

"And that's all I have been giving you Giroro... You really need a partner who can deal with you... Too bad no one has survived more than five minutes."

X LATER X

Giroro stormed down the beach, sending rocks flying across the dunes before him.

"Stupid Keroro with his stupid guild, with his stupid fucking rules with his stupid superiority complex!" Giroro muttered to himself. "Maybe I should quit and travel on my own to find that worthy opponent..." He slit his eyes against the setting sun.

The waves lapped against the rocks soothingly- which only served to piss him off more.

"Stupid beach, hah!" Giroro flung himself onto the ground, crossing his arms over his knees for a moment before shoving himself back up and continuing. "I don't even know why I came here."

Another rock fell victim to Giroro's feet of fury. The frog followed it with his eyes as it came to rest next to a lump on the sand. He squinted. What was that? He stepped forward cautiously, and realized after a few steps that it was a fellow frog- a pink one.

A slow, evil grin crept its way across his face. Sarge had said to not kill outlaws, right? Well, that Keronian certainly didn't look like an outlaw, and he needed to exercise his rage on something.

As he got closer, he took a better look. With a jolt, he realized that his intended victim was a female and obviously unconscious. How could he properly anger manage if his victim was nothing but a defenseless girl?

It would be even less pleasant than hearing Keroro prattle on about himself.

"Hey, you," Giroro said, nudging at her with his foot. "Wake up!"

With a small moan, she rolled onto her back.

Her skin was smooth, a light shade of pink. Her hat was a brighter shade of her skin, and had what would appear to be almost pigtails to either side. Her hat and belly each had the symbol of a yellow sun.

Unconsciously, his eyes drank in her form. Her body was curvy enough to make any properly cold blooded Keronian man stare. Giroro gulped, forcing his eyes to her face. It was no better. Long lashes, moist skin, and lips that looked ever so soft.

"H-Hey w-wake up!" Giroro shook her again, internally punching himself. As he did so, he silently cursed himself. What the hell was he doing? A warrior was a warrior, not a lover! Besides, the girl was a Keronian, and therefore like any other Keronian girl. Stupid.

The girl weakly opened her eyes. She blinked twice at the man standing over her, then scrambled back with eyes wide as saucers. After a moment, however, she couldn't keep up the momentum and curled in on herself. She wrapped her arms around her head and mumbled in pain.

Through this, she kept a wary eye on Giroro.

Giroro rolled his eyes. "Good, you're awake." He crossed his arms lazily. "Now get up and head home."

The girl only stared at him.

He waited for a response. After all, who wouldn't be scared to speak if they saw him right now? After a moment, though, his patience ran out.

"Didn't you hear me? Now get up and HEAD HOME," Giroro barked.

The girl's features settled into a slow glare. "Who... or better yet... What are you?"

Giroro quirked an eyebrow. He appraised her for a moment, and then knelt to her level.

She pulled obviously back at his advance. The smirk this caused made the words he spoke sound all the more malevolent.

"Listen here, girlie. I am Giroro the Red Devil, the most dangerous Keronian you will ever meet." He allowed the final word to slow into a threatening growl, maintaining his smirk.

"A Keronian? What the hell is that?" the girl asked, totally unfazed. She moved to adjust her pigtails, and noticed her hands were pink.

"What?! N-No way!" She squeaked. The frog scrambled to her feet, bumping carelessly into Giroro. He tottered for a moment, but gravity won, and he landed on his butt with a grunt. The girl ignored him. She made a beeline toward the still waters of a nearby tide pool.

She stopped at the edge and stared at her reflection.

Behind her, Giroro stood up painfully. "What the hell was that for?!" He shook off the pain and stomped over.

Girl or not, he wouldn't let her treat the Red Devil like this! He had a reputation to upkeep if he was to find that worthy opponent!

His hand shot forward to seize the girl's shoulder. "You need to apologize right no-" His voice broke off. The girl was trembling.

He smirked again, not lowering his hand. She was scared. How sweet.

The frog felt something on his arm, saw a pink hand clasped firmly around it. Before he could react, he felt a yank. Then, he was in the air.

As he tumbled in the air, head over feet, he caught the girl's expression. It was one of blind fury.

He landed in the water hard, assuredly terrifying any froggy fishes beneath him. The sudden cold shocked Giroro for a moment, but he regained his battle-trained senses quickly. He surfaced and shook the water out of his eyes, then stared. He was almost fifty feet from the shore. He could barely see the pink frog in the twilit gloom. The girl could throw. Well, for a girl at least.

She had a loud voice, too, because the second she saw him surface she cupped her hands to her mouth and bellowed:

"DON'T YOU EVER TOUCH ME AGAIN!"

Giroro stared for a moment longer, then sank in amazement beneath the waters.

Who was she? No one had ever caught him by surprise before, yet she'd thrown him like a Pekoponian toy. He had to hand it to her, the girl had some power. And some body to go along with it.

He shook the water out of his ears, then free styled back to shore.

"Well. Look who came back for more," She greeted.

Giroro's newfound respect evaporated in an instant.

"I wasn't ready!" He denied, trying to defend himself. Even to him, it sounded alarmingly close to a whine.

"I expected you to come up with a better excuse," The girl taunted.

Giroro narrowed his eyes. "Just who are you?"

The girl hesitated, appeared to think. After a moment she looked down.

"... Natsumi." She said quietly. Her attitude had vanished.

The sudden change caught Giroro off guard.

"Natsumi? What a strange name... What colony are you from?"

He glanced at her eyes, noticed they were a rich, chocolate brown. He blinked, forcing himself back to reality. _Down_ soldier.

She avoided his gaze. "I-I don't r-remember."

Giroro's expression turned incredulous. Throwing him fifty feet was bad enough, but she had the guts to lie to him too?

"What do you mean you don't remember?! You think I'll believe that?" Giroro asked.

"I never asked you to believe me!" Her previous tone returned like a whip, one fierce enough to make Giroro flinch.

Giroro was astonished. No one ever acted this way towards him. No one ever had the courage. Well that was excepting Keroro, but come on. Keroro.

With another flinch, he realized she was still talking.

"I only remember my name and that I used to be human." She said. Her voice had returned to being quiet, but this time she sounded sure. Not scared in the least.

Giroro chuckled quietly.

Natsumi glared at him. "Why are you laughing?"

Giroro couldn't hold back his laughter. "A h-human?! A Pekoponian?" The frog shook his head. "Now that's funny."

He glanced up and noticed a fist heading for the place between his eyes. He sidestepped and shoved the girl as she passed, then watched with amusement as she landed face first in the sand.

Natsumi sat up immediately, spit out a mouthful of tiny pebbles, and glared at Giroro.

"You are way out of your league, Pekoponian," He grinned. "Us Keronian-"

A foot caught him in the face. Giroro grunted and stumbled backwards. Another blow to the chest later, and he was on his back in the sand with an extremely angry pink lump sitting on top of him.

She grabbed him roughly by the ear flaps, knees digging into his chest.

"So, do you still find it funny now that this 'Pekoponian' can do this?" She grabbed a fistful of ear and _yanked._

Giroro gasped. "I-I'm sorry," He choked out, blinking back tears of sheer agony. He hadn't even known he could say those words- much less that he would. Ever.

"You... Y-You better be," Natsumi said. Her voice hitched. She rolled off of Giroro and stood facing away from him.

"Ahh... Natsumi?" Giroro rolled to his feet, one hand rubbing at his ear. "Are…you crying?"

"I-It's not what you think! I'm just... I'm so confused! I'm not a frog." She scrubbed her face harder. "People will think it's crazy. People will think I'm crazy. But I'm not a frog! I'm a human!" Her crying turned into sobbing.

There was a pause as Giroro weighed his options. Believe the racially confused pink frog, or go back to Keroro, who undoubtedly had another stupid lecture waiting for him.

"I believe you," Giroro said quietly.

Natsumi looked at him with suspicion for a moment. She took one last shaky breath, and then sat down on the sand.

Giroro sighed. She hadn't said that she trusted him, but he had a feeling that this little concession was the best he was going to get right now.

There they sat, two strangers, as the last of the light fled the sky.

Giroro wanted to say something. It was against protocol, both Keronian and his own, but-. But. Screw it, he was asking. Quietly.

"Why don't you come and join me? Become my partner," Giroro muttered, half hoping she wouldn't hear.

His answer was silence. Giroro glanced over. "Natsum-?" She fell onto his shoulder. Giroro froze in shock, staring at her. "Natsumi?" His answer was a quiet moan. She was completely asleep.

Giroro almost found himself entranced by her form again before he snapped himself out of it. Think, soldier. What would a warrior do in a time like this? The obvious option, of course, would be to merely leave her there. It would be simple, no trouble, and it wasn't like he'd ever have to see her again.

That last was precisely why he scooped her up with something almost resembling delicacy and began carrying her princess style towards the barracks.

X LATER X

Giroro's eyebrows quirked in irritation. That was the sixth frog he'd seen faint. Some had screamed, some had run, some had merely stared in shock, but he was sure he could hear all of them whispering behind him. He was sure they were following him. And of course, Giroro, the Red Devil, could hear every word they were saying.

"Is that the Red Devil?! The one who always kills the outlaws he's assigned to?!" A member of his personal paparazzo muttered to another.

"That can't be him! He'd never carry such a beautiful girl like that!" Another replied.

The first snorted. "Who would let him?

"Is this a sign that the world is about to end?!"

"Someone save that poor girl!"

"No way! 'A warrior is not a lover'! It's something he always shouts."

"I like pie!"

"Maybe he drugged her!"

"I heard that he eats frogs like us."

"Run away!"

Giroro knitted his brows together and rounded on the people tailing him.

"Shut up! Haven't you ever seen someone being carried before? Go mind your own damn business!" Giroro yelled.

The look in his eyes cleared the space behind him in seconds. He glared after them for a moment, then kept moving. Stupid frogs.

Giroro continued on his way, giving anyone who more than glanced at him his parented death stare. A few more frogs fainted along his route this way, but hey. He couldn't have them tarnishing his reputation.

He could almost feel the rumors as they began forming, though.

He arrived at the guild tent not a moment too soon. Giroro scowled up at their mascot, shaped and colored like his Sergeant's idiotic head. It almost seemed to mock him as he passed. He glanced at it and the girl in his arms a few times before entering.

As he entered the front office, he spotted one of Keroro's secretaries. She glanced at him with the slightest bit too much interest.

"If you breathe a word of this to Keroro, you will regret it." The words were harsh.

The secretary froze, color draining from her face. She whipped her attention back to her computer screen, doing her best to not shake.

Giroro shook his head, loading himself and Natsumi into the elevator that would lead to his room. Sometimes you had to yell to make a point.


	2. Even Badasses Have Bullies

**Chapter 2: Even Bad Asses Have Bullies. **

A bolt of lightning shot through the dark and forbidding skies above. It illuminated the narrow path for a brief moment, and then she was in the cold rain once again. Her only source of warmth was the hand roughly pulling her forward. She couldn't see much more of her companion than that. The wind whipping her sopping hair into her eyes and the darkness almost drowning them both kept her vision to a bare minimum.

"Hang on!" The stranger shouted over the thunder. "We're almost there!"

She clung as hard as she could to the stranger's hand. But her fingers were numb, and the wind was doing its best to pull her away. She knew she wouldn't last much longer. Not after what they'd just seen.

The hand holding hers tightened its grip, and the voice called out again. "Stay with me! We're almost there." Within a few steps, the stranger slowed to a trot. The strength of the tugging dwindled away. Before them hovered a black portal, surrounded by and intertwined with light blue rings.

She stared for a moment before the stranger's panting voice called her attention away. "We're here. This is it."

A cold voice sounded from behind. "And where do you think you're going?"

She flinched and turned to look behind her. Before she could even catch a glimpse, a strong protective arm was around her waist, pushing her safely behind the stranger.

"JUMP!" The voice was a bellow. She was shoved into the portal, her companion falling in behind her. They plunged into a different type of blackness, one somehow even more cold and damp than the trail they'd just run. The tight grip from the strangers hand was her only source of warmth, the only thing keeping her aware of the fact that she was still alive.

"Wh-Whoa!"

"Don't let go!"

Lightning ripped through the dark, dazing her still further.

"Just a little longer! I know you can do it!"

"I-I can't! I'm sorry."

With that, the warmth left her hand and darkness engulfed her.

Giroro's eyes shot open. Had a door just shut? He blinked twice and groaned, noticing that he was on the couch. He must have dozed off sometime after putting Natsumi on his bed and doing some of the scattered paper work spread on the desk before him. He yawned as he stood up. Before anything else, he needed to hit the washroom to clean his face and teeth.

He walked through thirty seconds of dead silence before realizing how wrong it was, and then made a beeline for his room. He walked in and saw nothing but rumpled sheets on his bed. No Natsumi. With a muffled curse, he lurched out of his room and down the hallway, clambering straight into the elevator.

The 200 foot rise to the ground floor was an impatient one, but soon enough he was surrounded by the noise and general stupidity of the main tent. As he left the elevator, he spotted a group of maggot trainees. The whelps were looking around, taking in the lovely Keroro colored carpet that covered every available surface. This particular batch must be more stupid than usual, however, because they hadn't yet noticed him registering the stares aimed directly at him.

"H-Hey... isn't that the Red Devil?" One mumbled. As soon as those words left the kid's mouth, any pretense of politeness the cadets had was lost, and each one of them filled their eyes with the Red Devil.

"What are you maggots looking at?" The words were a bark.

Half the group involuntarily went to attention. The other just withered and looked away. Either way, their attention was off of him. They parted like tadpoles as he made his way towards them, and he waded his way in, searching for that familiar pink lump.

"Giroro, what are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to stay hidden until later today?" Keroro's nasally voice almost made Giroro shudder, but he managed to keep it together long enough to ask a very important question.

"Did a pink racially confused Keronian come through here?" Giroro said, gritting his teeth. He didn't have time to waste, but if Keroro had information…

"Gero?" Keroro blinked a set of wide, innocent, completely clueless eyes, tilting his head cutely to the side.

Giroro took a good look at that wide, adorable, completely idiotic expression, and snapped. "I don't have any fucking time for this! Did you see her or not?!"

Keroro's façade broke. "I-I didn't see anything!"

Before the words were even out of his mouth, Giroro ran. He avoided and ignored the frogs staring at him. Before a minute had passed, he ran out of the tent's front flap, glaring back with a scowl. Trust Keroro to have the tent be a giant representation of his head. His ego was so large, even that didn't come close to doing it justice.

Giroro ran downhill from the tent until he came upon a 4-way crossroad. The frog glanced around, ignoring the sign next to him because he knew the directions by heart. North was Keroro's Guild. The east road was the way to adventuring. South went straight to the beach. And the only thing west was the market.

Giroro ran straight through the intersection, heading south. If Natsumi only remembered her name and that she once was a Pekoponian, then the only place she had to go was the beach. That was the only place that could have any potential clues.

Sure enough, as he rounded the final corner, he spotted a familiar pink lump sitting on the sand. She was facing away from him, staring into the sea. He felt a rush of relief, but just behind it was a wave of anger.

He stomped towards her, waiting until he was close enough that she couldn't bolt to begin yelling.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? You don't have the slightest idea how this world works! You weren't supposed to leave the apartment!"

Natsumi gave Giroro an utterly confused look. "Why are you even yelling at me?! It's not like I'm yours."

Giroro opened his mouth, and then shut it. She was…right. Why had he made a big fuss about finding her? Why had he searched for her like a madfrog? To be honest, he had no idea, but she didn't have to know that.

The frog gave up and changed the subject. "Why are you here?"

Natsumi gazed at him for a moment, and then returned her attention to the ocean. "I had a nightmare." She mumbled.

"About?" Giroro asked.

Natsumi paused, asked another question instead of responding. "Why did **you** come back here?" The pink frog stared him down.

Instead of speaking, Giroro sat next to her with a quiet sigh. Natsumi glanced at him, then away with a growl of frustration. They appeared to be at an impasse.

"Well, if it isn't the Red Devil." A low chuckle behind them caught their attention, and they turned to see two frogs. "And some chick's with him, too." This last comment came from the closer of the two frogs. He was a lighter shade of red than Giroro, and his hat was black instead of maroon. He wore more jewelry than either frog sitting on the beach, gold ringing his waist and both of his wrists. A long staff was clutched in one hand as he stared cockily down at Giroro and Natsumi.

"I never knew you liked your victims alive." The other frog smirked. His skin was a harsh steel blue, something that matched the guns coming out of every possible area. The grey was broken only by a yellow symbol on his belly that was matched in red on his forehead.

Giroro stood up immediately. "What the hell do you guys want?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, Doruru." The red frog said with a sneer, addressing his companion. "The Red Devil still thinks he can order us around?"

"He does, Shivava," The blue frog, Doruru said. "You're not part of any army anymore, Giroro. You got fired just like I did."

Giroro balled his hands into fists. He couldn't keep a few tremors of rage from escaping him. "I was never fired! I was _promoted._" He spat the last word.

"Then why are you on this backwater little planet?" Shivava grinned.

Giroro's eyes spread wide as he leapt for Shivava's face with an incoherent scream, his hands made into claws. Shivava shielded himself with his staff in a practiced gesture, bracing for an impact.

Giroro was too angry to think about anything but pulling that staff away and pounding Shivava's smug face into a pulp. He jerked at the staff with an almost feral snarl, aiming jabs into the holes in Shivava's defenses.

Natsumi had stepped back from Giroro's scream, totally at a loss. Movement caught her attention and she turned in time to see the blue frog point one of his cannons at Giroro. "Watch out!"

Giroro's head jerked first towards her, and then towards Daruru. A missile was rocketing towards him, and it was too late for him to avoid it. He yanked at Shivava's staff one last time, pulling it in the path of the missile. It exploded in a cloud of smoke that stung his eyes and made him gag. He recoiled, completely unprepared for Shivava's punch, and for his shout.

"An eye for an eye!"

Giroro landed on the ground with enough force to send the small case clipped to his belt flying. He heard it crack open as two photographs and a key flew out, landing in the sand beside him.

Doruru laughed. "Would you look at that? He's still holding onto the past." He stepped forward, casually grinding the photographs deeper into the sand with his foot as he approached.

"D-Damn you!" The words were a growl. Giroro tried to struggle to his feet. Shivava kicked him in the side and he went down hard.

"We're all damned in this place, Red Devil," Shivava chuckled. He spotted the key glinting in the sand and smirked. "Hiding the good stuff from us, eh? Yo, Doruru, this key might be it!"

"Don't _touch_ that! That belongs to me!" Giroro snarled. He reached out for the key.

"Giroro!" Natsumi's shout carried through the smoke.

"Shit. That girl's still here. Let's take this key and go." Shivava said, glancing around for potential threats.

"Yeah no shit, Sherfrog," Doruru scooped up the key as they swaggered off.

"Get back here-" Giroro earned another kick in the side. With a crack, something sharp and painful made itself known inside of him.

Natsumi waved the smoke out of her eyes, coughing. It began clearing away in time for her to see the frogs that had attacked them headed toward a cave. In their wake lay Giroro, wheezing and holding a hand over his ribcage as if he was trying to hold it together. Two photographs were settled deep into the sand next to him, one badly crumpled. Under the sand half coating it were what looked like five frogs saluting. One of them was Giroro. The other photo was of him and two other frogs that looked like family.

"Give back my fucking key!" Giroro roared. He stumbled to his feet, still clutching his ribs. Trying not to wince, he reached for the pictures half buried in the sand. He had to get that key back. He was _going_ to get that key back. Placing the photos back inside their belt case, he began limping his way towards the cave.

"What do you think you're trying to do?!" Natsumi chased after him. She caught up easily.

"To get my key back. And to murder them for trying to take it in the first place!" His eyes were filled with exhausted blood lust.

"And get your ass handed to you again?" Natsumi gripped his shoulder, halting him in an attempt to make him think. "You have at least one broken rib, idiot. You'll kill your-"

"I don't care! That key is what's keeping me alive! It's my reason to live!" He slapped her hand away, too angry to care that he was being honest. "I have to get my fucking key back!"

Natsumi paused, staring into his burning eyes. Underneath the bloodlust, rage and pain, she could see a thread of steely determination. "Not on your own. I'm coming with."

Giroro didn't let it make him miss a beat. "Then don't hold me back." He turned back to the cave, ignoring the lightning bolts of pain shooting from his sides.

Natsumi nodded, right at his side. A stray thought made her smirk before she banished it. Guess even the bad asses have bullies of their own.

"Are you sure you can keep moving? You're getting sluggish." Natsumi's comment came from the darkness behind him.

"Stop. Asking." Giroro growled between his teeth.

"Look, I'm just saying. Once we meet those frogs you're going to get your ass kicked again. Why don't we take a break and put that off for a while?"

Giroro growled in affront, but leaned against a nearby wall anyway. His ribs hurt with every breath, but he'd had worse, and the key was more important anyway.

"So, where are we?" Natsumi was still on her feet, and she took the time to finally look at the cave around them. It was blue, and dark, and cold, and every surface she saw was made of stone.

"It's called Beach Cave." Giroro mumbled. He read Natsumi's expression and barked out a harsh chuckle. "Yes, _very_ original, I know. If I counted the stairs right, we're on the fourth floor. Right by the end, the last place those bastards could have run to."

"You've been here before?" Natsumi asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, in my early missions." Giroro grunted, glad for the distraction. The pain might not have been bearable otherwise.

"Then how do you not know where the stairs are, and why have we run into four dead ends? Do frogs not have a sense of direction?" She asked as she looked around.

"This isn't an ordinary cave, and you're a frog too, idiot." Giroro said. "This place is a Mystery Dungeon."

"... A what? Is this some kind of nerd game or something?" Natsumi frowned, ignoring his insult for the sole reason that he was already injured.

"I wouldn't know, but I've never seen this place the same way twice." Giroro sighed. "Mystery Dungeons change layouts all the time, including staircases and dead ends."

"So they're basically mazes that reset every visit?"

"Yup." Giroro grunted, steeling himself to get back to his feet.

"Why?"

"I already said I don't know. It's been like that since I came here." Giroro said shortly, finding a place to give his hand purchase.

"So you weren't born here? Where did you come from?" She was worse than a tadpole with the questions.

"Keron." He stood up. "Enough questions. We need to keep moving if we don't want them to leave without us." He limped deeper into the dark hallway, shoulders tense.

Natsumi sighed as she walked after him. She almost tripped over a light blue ball, caught herself and picked it up. It was a berry.

"You coming, girly frog?" Giroro's voice came from the shadows ahead. They were deep enough that she almost couldn't see him.

"Don't make me regret helping you, stupid amphibian." Natsumi jogged to catch up, the berry still clasped in her hand.

"Well, is it opening?" Doruru asked over Shivava's shoulder.

"It would be, if this key would twist." Shivava twisted the key and growled with all the frustration he could muster. His muscles gave out with a gasp, the key still as unmoving as ever. "Damn! Maybe this one is a fake."

"Damn Giroro, making it sound so important." Doruru stalked away from Shivava. They were already too deep into the cave for there to be any way out but the chest- once they got it open.

"FUCKING KEY." Shivava growled. He stood up, kicking the chest as hard as he could. The key and chest mocked him, glittering dully in the dim light.

"Let it be. We should get out of here before the Red Devil shows up." Doruru said, turning back towards his partner.

"You've got to be fucking with me. All that hard work for nothing? I ain't leaving here with that," Shivava almost wanted to spit.

"Oh, you'll leave with something alright, but that isn't going to be the treasure." Giroro stood at the entrance of the room. The defiance in his posture almost drowned out the clear signs of pain.

"So you decided to come alone?" Shivava smirked. Giroro was already broken. This should be fun.

"Nah, he isn't alone." Natsumi stood next to him, her hands on her hips and a smirk on her lips. "That wouldn't be a fair fight."

"A chick coming to the rescue?" Doruru laughed. "How low can the once mighty Red Devil fall?"

"Nowhere near as low as you," Giroro said. His smile tugged into a snarl.

"We'll see about that when I grind your face into the rock beneath my feet!" Shivava yanked the key down around his head, charged at Giroro with his staff pointed to stab.

Giroro braced himself. A sharp pain in his side froze him as he moved to side step, and the staff caught him in the chest. He flew backward, hit a wall, and then landed hard in a puddle of water.

"Giroro!" Natsumi's shout was punctuated with footsteps. She skidded and knelt at his side.

"The fight hasn't even started yet and the Red Devil is out?" Shivava laughed.

"Damn it..." Giroro got an elbow underneath him, and then collapsed. He let out a noise that was supposed to be a growl, but came out alarmingly like a whimper.

"What is going inside your head?" Natsumi knelt next to him. She mostly resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Had this frog-thing ever heard of self restraint?

"So, what, is that chick going to fight me?" Shivava mocked. His grin was as wide as his eyes were narrowed.

"Sure." Natsumi stood up, turned to face Shivava.

"Stop. You won't be able to defeat him." Giroro grunted. He tried to rise again, and fell back.

"Don't underestimate me." Her tone was clipped.

As she ran at Shivava, the red frog spun his staff tauntingly. Once she was in range, he swung his staff at her skull, but she ducked underneath and took a step forward. Shivava didn't even feel the uppercut until he was falling onto his back backward, his staff wrested from his hands. He was completely unprepared when his own staff caught him under the chin, ready to jab in and finish the job at a moment's notice.

"T-That's mine!" Shivava yelped.

"Just as that key is Giroro's?" The staff didn't budge.

Shivava growled. He wouldn't let this upstart pink frog show him up! He rolled out from underneath the staff suddenly, trying to jerk his weapon back, but she lifted it out of the way. He threw a punch aimed at her gut. She used the staff to block him. He threw another aimed at her head. She used the staff to block him again. With a snarl, he began flurrying his punches, but the only thing they hit was the metal of his own staff.

The frog began throwing kicks, but she dodged every one of them. Out of frustration, he leaped back. She did the same, twirling the staff expertly and gesturing him towards her with two fingers.

Shivava let out an almost scream and charged forward, hands raised. Natsumi bid her time. When the frog was close enough, she landed one end of the staff hard onto the rock underneath her and pole vaulted into midair, landing perfectly behind him. She whirled, keeping the staff low. It caught Shivava in the gut.

Giroro's mouth fell open. Where did she learn to fight like that? Giroro's gawking face followed Shivava's hurtle across the room, landing headfirst into the wall. It crumbled around him, and he fell to the ground with a moan. Giroro returned his gaze to the pink frog standing in the center of the cave, his mouth still wide enough for zubats to fly out of.

Giroro realized too late that it was too quiet. His gaze went to Doruru at the same time that he fired one of his guns. It hit Natsumi at the same moment Shivava rose to his feet, screaming incoherently.

The pink frog felt white hot pain rip through her side. She was thrown across the room, landing an arm's length from Giroro. A small blue ball fell from underneath her hat and rolled next to Giroro, and the red frog blinked. How in the world had she managed to get her hands on an Oran berry?

Natsumi stumbled as she got to her feet. She kept one hand pressed against the wound on her side. "Coward! Only weaklings shoot their opponents in the back!" She glared at Doruru.

"Sorry, girly, but beating my teammate isn't allowed. Besides, you were getting too proud. I had to put you back in your place."

"Doruru! This is my fight!" Shivava stalked back over, snatching up his staff as he did.

"A fight you were losing." Doruru smirked.

"Natsumi," Giroro whispered. It was too low for the other two to hear over their bickering- a perfect opening.

"What?" She growled.

"How long did you have this Oran Berry?" He held it up.

"Is that what it's called? I found it in the cave earlier. Why?"

"Idiot. You should have told me." He took a bite, clambered to his feet. He did his best to press the rest of the berry into Natsumi's palm. She stared at him in shock, and he grunted.

"The berry heals you. Gives you energy back. Since I ate half it only gave me half the energy, but I'm fine. You'll need it as well." Giroro smirked, began walking towards their slowly quieting enemies.

Natsumi took her bite. It was sweet, and just a little bit bitter. Biting into it was a little like getting shocked by an electrical socket back home, except there was no pain. No pain at all, in fact, including from the already healed gash on her side.

She smirked. It seems revenge tasted sweet, and a little bit bitter. She followed after Giroro and faced down the two other frogs, both of whom had begun stammering.

"How about a rematch?" Giroro asked. He'd already pulled out his guns.

"Enough Giroro! They're already half dead!" Natsumi pulled Giroro away from Doruru and Shivava. The latter two were covered in bruises and rock chips, and neither one was fully conscious.

"This isnt enough." Giroro's words were a snarl. "They deserve so much worse!"

"No they don't, idiot. They already won't be able to live this down, ever. Let them be!" Natsumi yanked him away.

Giroro growled, wiping the dust and flecks of blood from his hands. He had his key. And he'd taught those who had taken it from him a lesson. Too bad said lesson didn't feel like near enough.

"How are we going to get out?" The room they were in had no exits.

"Like this." He squatted at Doruru's side, stood with a grenade clasped in one hand. It exploded against the wall a moment later. Huge chunks of blue stone fell with the explosion. Behind the rubble, there was a space, hollow and dark. Giroro got walking. "Let's go."

Natsumi blinked and chuckled softly. She followed after him.

The pair emerged and settled onto the beach, the setting sun casting everything in a honeyed light. They were relaxed and comfortable in their twenty four hours of friendship and victory, or as much as they could be. Giroro cleared his throat.

"Natsumi...?"

"Hm?" She didn't take her eyes from the sunset.

"Where did you learn to fight? I've never seen that fighting style before." Giroro asked.

Natsumi shrugged. "It just came to me. Like I said, I don't remember anything other than-"

"You're a Pekoponian and your name is Natsumi." Giroro finished her sentence. He already knew. That didn't stop him from hoping for more information.

"Yeah." The pink frog tugged her legs to her chest with her arms, as if seeking reassurance.

Giroro nodded as both frogs fell silent. He wasn't sure how to bring it up. Should he ask her to join him? Did he even want to?

"Why is that key so important to you?" Natsumi asked suddenly. It was obviously a tense subject. Might as well get it out of the way.

"My brother gave it to me." Giroro's voice was quiet as he tugged the key from around his neck. His eyes were full of a warmth Natsumi had figured he didn't have in him. It was shock enough that she paused for almost a full minute before asking the obvious question.

"You have a brother?"

"His name is Garuru." The answer was prompt.

"That's a nice enough gift, but still. Why a key?"

"Maybe after he heard my ex-platoon got 'promoted', he wanted to give me a consolation prize." He chuckled bitterly. His eyes filled with hate. "Especially with my 'behavior' the day it happened."

"It's useless anyway. He didn't even have time to figure out what it opened, so he figured, 'let's give it to little baby brother Giroro on Zimontova, maybe he'll use that to fill his completely empty life'." The words were a growl.

"…But when those two idiots took it from you, you said it was your life." Natsumi raised an eyebrow.

Giroro paused. "I did." He twirled the key between his fingers. "I know my brother meant well. He handled the news better than I did, anyway."

"News? What happened?" Natsumi asked.

The red frog changed the subject abruptly. "Have you ever heard of an exploration team?"

"No." She quirked an eyebrow. Giroro was good with weaponry, not with topic changes. She would need to remember that.

"It's a group of people who explore. They have a very original name."

"...Okay?" Natsumi nodded, pretending she understood what was coming out of Giroro's mouth.

"I belong to one of those exploration teams. Pretty much, I work for an idiot named Keroro. We capture outlaws. We also do missions- rescue idiots, escort idiots, find stupid items for said idiots," he explained, gingerly creating some space between the two of them. He felt awkward. He had never done this before, nor had he planned on ever doing it. "Why don't you come and join me? Become my partner."

"J-Join you? P-Partner?" Natsumi sputtered.

"Yeah. My sidekick," Giroro said. Why had he ever even asked? He should have left it alone the first time he brought it up.

She snorted. "That sounds stupid."

Giroro didn't know whether to be pleased or insulted by her reaction. Either way, he began to get to his feet to go back to base alone.

"What's in it for me?" She asked.

The soldier sat back down.

"Um, well, there's money, and adventure, and maybe even a way to figure out why you turned into a Keronian and find a way back to your human self. If you're serious about that." Giroro said.

Natsumi put a hand to her chin, pondering.

"Besides, you don't really have another place to stay."

"You're right." The pink frog paused, thinking. "Alright, how do I join?"

The Red Devil next to her had to fight to keep from doing a triple take.

He decided it would be best if he were to the point.

"My guild is nearby, and we should be able to walk-" Giroro climbed to his feet, looked around at a sharp grumbling sound. Natsumi's face had gone pinker. The red frog chuckled. "And get something to eat."

"Shut up!" Natsumi yelled, her face still bright pink.

A/N: HELLO AGAIN~ Sorry for the lateness of this chapter. Im not going to lie but I was distracted with other things. But I had this written. I just had to have my beta to proof read and make it understandable :3 But because of the follows, favs, and little comments steered me back to the story. But finally this chapter is going to be posted for you to enjoy~ And I hope you could give me some more feedback and love~

B/N: B/N means 'beta's note'. Don't question it. Anyway, hello, and enjoy your latest round of Keronian Mystery Dungeon! Thank you for reading, and for sending Meyoshi reviews, favorites and comments. She squeals at me and gets on my butt to finally beta her stuff. Which takes forever, because I'm very very slow. :D In any case, thanks again!


	3. Nice to Meet You

**Chapter Three: **

Giroro had led her back to his quarters without bumping into anyone. For that, they both were grateful.

It wasn't like Natsumi had any problems meeting new people. The operative term for that, however, _people_. The frogs she was surrounded by and was now one of, on the other hand…they made her feel uneasy. All of them had the same freakishly large heads and tiny bodies, including her. She was nervous around every one of them, except Giroro, and that was only because she needed him for food and shelter. She wouldn't be able to find her answers without it. Until she figured out what she was doing here, she was willing to put up with anything.

When they arrived at Giroro's quarters, Natsumi realized the 'food' part of that equation might be a problem. There wasn't a scrap of anything edible in the apartment, as Giroro had a habit of exclusively eating out. He offered to drop by a nearby restaurant to pick up some food, and told Natsumi to stay put. That way she might get to know the layout better, especially if she didn't run off like last time she'd been there. This resulted in a few glares back in forth, but in the end, Giroro grumbled his way out of the building, leaving Natsumi behind.

Natsumi glowered as the door shut, sighed and looked around the room. There was a window open to an ocean lit by moonlight, which was strange. Wasn't the base underground? She looked out, realized she was peering out of a room carved into a vast stone cliff. It was a pretty advanced cliff, too, to have the complete furnishings and utilities of a small apartment. The stars and moonlight were a nice contrast to the hallway outside, which would be pitch black if it weren't for the tinny yellow light spilled by scattered light bulbs. Giroro had mentioned before he left that this floor was only for the best explorers the guild had. The lower, darker floors were occupied by the newer recruits, and the top floors, just barely overhead, were just for holding meetings, taking jobs, and registering new members.

Giroro came back with takeout boxes before Natsumi could connect the dots she had found into a coherent picture. The food's delicious aroma diffused all the way to the living room from the kitchen, and Natsumi's stomach protested loudly that that food wasn't presently in her stomach.

She walked just a bit too quickly into the kitchen and grabbed her box eagerly from the red frog. They sat at opposite ends of the small round table. Natsumi didn't bother settling in the way Giroro did before fiddling with carton's latch.

"Thanks for the meal," She said, the smell of _food _washing over her still more heavily. She wasn't sure what type of food this ways, or even if that was a color food should be, but for now she didn't care. She grabbed her utensils and chowed down.

Giroro watched Natsumi inhale her dinner warily before starting on his own. This is the first time in a long while he had had a companion to eat with. Although it was rare for someone to eat with him, he wasn't sure about Natsumi's table manners, even if she was still oddly cute eating that way. He cleared his throat. "Do you like it? The food?"

"Yeah. It's amazing!" Natsumi smiled, still eating quickly.

"Good." Giroro nodded, glad his red face disguised almost every blush he had ever had. "I didn't know what you'd like so I got you something I usually get for myself."

"Next time, I'm coming. I want to choose for myself what I eat." Natsumi mumbled this through the food that she was obviously thoroughly enjoying. Giroro would question her desire to choose for herself if he was stupid enough to want to be stuck holding her hand all the time. He'd have to be really stupid to want that.

He cleared his throat again. "Alright."

After they ate and cleaned up, Giroro pulled out some paperwork and presented Natsumi with a pen.

"What's this?" She asked, glancing from the pen to the paper in food-addled confusion.

"It's a registration form. Fill it out if you want to really be part of this guild." Giroro explained. He noticed Natsumi frowning as she read it, guessed her problem. "Answer what you know and we'll make up the rest. There's no way they'll notice."

Natsumi nodded, filled out the basics. "What should I check for race?"

"Check Keronian. I mean, you are one now, aren't you?"

"But I'm human! Well, I was human." Natsumi's frown deepened.

"Was." He repeated.

Natsumi sighed as she checked Keronian off. "Fine. What about birth place? Address? Reason for joining? What I'm expecting? Team name?" After biological details, the registration form went on for a good two pages.

"Give me that." Giroro grabbed the paper from her, began penning rapidly. "Keron. For now, with Giroro. Exploration and fame. I'm expecting why I'm joining. Not available." His pen made little flicks against the paper as he fell silent but kept writing.

"You better not write anything stupid." Natsumi warned, peering over his shoulder.

"I'm just writing bullshit. Again, it's not like anyone's ever going to read it." Giroro finished the forms with practiced speed, gathered them up, and stacked them into a neat pile.

He'd just laid them on the table when the door opened hard enough to slam against the wall next to it. Natsumi jerked at the crash, glanced at Giroro. He hadn't pulled his weapon, and he wasn't snarling, both things that confused the pink frog. Instead, he was…mumbling to himself? Mumbling to himself with his face in his hands.

"Giroro! I know you're here! I want some answers!" A nasally voice called through the small apartment, headed straight for the kitchen. A green frog appeared in the doorway and froze, one foot dangling in the air, as he saw Natsumi. He turned to Giroro, and that foot came down with pompous finality. "So, Giroro, the rumors are correct. You have kidnapped a girl and forced her into slavery!"

Giroro's mumbles took on a still more irritated edge as Natsumi burst out laughing.

"Look here, stupid frog," Natsumi said, placing a hand on her cocked hip, a wide smile splayed on her face. "I'm not his slave, or anyone else's either. I chose to join this guild and have this idiot as a partner."

There was a beat of silence, and then Keroro peeled over to Giroro. He stared him down with large, glassy frog eyes. "Just how much money did you pay her to get rid of me? Flowers? Chocolate? Must be something good, to keep her around and claiming to be your partner."

Giroro straightened, somehow ignoring the green frog's jabs. He chalked it up to years of military training. "She's telling the truth, Keroro. Here's her paperwork, ready to be filed when you get your head out of your rear and do it. Just introduce yourself and get out of here already."

"What!?" Keroro snatched the sheath of papers, making sure to read it twice over. "So you really got your hands on a partner after all…" The frog sounded shocked as he groped for the nearest chair. He slid into it, setting the papers back haphazardly on the table. "For…for how long? How long do you think you can last?" The end of his words ended in both a squeak and the turning of those wide, almost unseeing eyes on Natsumi.

Natsumi blinked. She hadn't really thought about time, at least not yet. She looked around the table, realizing that not only was this creepy frog staring at her, Giroro had taken it up as well. She cleared her throat, played a bit with the sun on her belly. She couldn't stay forever. She'd get her memories back, almost certainly. But how long would that take? Days? Weeks? Months? Squishy frog fingers forbid it, _years_?

"She'll stay as long as she wants, Keroro. When she has no further use of the guild, she'll leave. If that's tomorrow, so be it. If she wants to say longer, I'm not stopping her." Giroro said this with a grunt, lacing his arms together.

"Very well. I'll just take it for granted that she won't stay with someone like you for very long, then." Keroro nodded sagely. "So tell me, girl. What is your name?"

Natsumi blinked. Hadn't he just read that twice on her registration papers? "Natsumi."

"Nice to meet you, Natsumi. Huh. A strange name. I don't believe I've ever heard or read it before. Anyhow, I am the amazing, beautiful, strong, fearless, Master Keroro who runs this wonderful, beautiful, powerful, fearful, absolutely delightful guild. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me." Keroro smiled.

"Nice to meet you..." Natsumi paused. "Stupid frog."

Giroro froze for a moment, stifled a laugh in his fist. This girly wouldn't even bend for Keroro! Maybe they'd get along after all.

Keroro blinked, ignored the insult in that moronically serene way he had. "Master Keroro is my name, actually. We start tomorrow bright and early. I'll see you then, Natsumi!" Keroro stood up and made to leave, completely forgetting the papers on the table. "Welcome to the guild."

**Next Day~**

"Meet Zeroro, your tour guide for today." Keroro said this grandly, gesturing to the other new frog standing in Giroro's living room.

"It's nice to meet you." Zeroro nodded politely. The blue frog's back was straight and his hands were behind him in a perfect 'at ease' stance. Even though stood in a much more disciplined way than the red frog, he exuded eerie, lethal calm in a way Natsumi was sure Giroro never could. The two frogs were the same ranking, too, so it was impossible that different levels of stress had made them the way they were.

"Yeah, same here. Name's Natsumi." She copied his stance for a brief moment, then broke it to glare at Keroro. "Stupid frog, why isn't Giroro showing me around? I already know him, and this way we're wasting Zeroro's time."

"It's because I have a lot of paper work." Giroro grunted as he left his room, a cup of coffee clutched in one hand.

"But mostly because of other reasons." Keroro said. He looked at a spot on the ceiling in suspicious innocence.

"Other reasons?" Natsumi glanced between Keroro and Giroro with one brow quirked. Keroro snuck a look at Giroro, almost as if he were asking for permission to speak.

Giroro's grunt cut off any possible answer from Keroro. "You'll find out soon enough."

"Come along, Miss Natsumi." Zeroro said, gesturing towards the front door that Keroro hadn't seen fit to close.

"Miss?" Natsumi shook her head. "Just call me Natsumi." She followed after the other frog, tossing a wave at Giroro as she shut the door behind her.

Keroro wasn't one for tact, so the moment the door was shut, he turned on the last remaining frog in the room. "Have you told her anything about you being an ex-soldier?" The air in the room constricted immediately, and Keroro inched towards the wall with the few survival instincts he possessed on anywhere but Keron. "I guess not."

Zeroro was a fast walker, something Natsumi appreciated. The two were moving down a dirt path, Keroro's tent getting smaller behind them. Natsumi looked around much the last time she'd come through here, so she took in the sights curiously now.

Zeroro came to a stop at a signpost with four markers, each pointing at the cardinal directions. "This post is mostly for new recruits like you, but almost all of us use it at one time or another." He gestured behind himself, pointed at the corresponding arrow. "We just left Keroro's Guild, that's the marker for it. I heard you met Giroro at the beach. That marker is directly across from the one for the guild. If you have a mission want to go adventuring, the marker you want points east. That path leads to the main trail, where every place connects.." Zeroro looked over to the right. "Today, if you don't mind, I'd like to show you around the Market Place. That's the most important and only place to restock for your traveling, meet new people, and pick up some missions – if you tire of the ones the guild gives us." Zeroro said.

"So…what does this marketplace look like?" Natsumi asked. She didn't know whether to expect tents on the ground or full-fledged cliff shopping areas, similar to how the guild was designed. Zeroro shook his head and turned down the proper path, Natsumi right beside him.

"You're going to have to see that for yourself." Zeroro chuckled. Natsumi gave him a brief side-eye, then let it go.

The first thing she noticed was the ground beneath her feet turning to concrete. The second thing was a cheerful tune quietly playing in the background. The speakers must have been hidden, though, as she saw none. There was a break in the trees up ahead, one she realized as they got closer was actually a thick circle. Once they passed it, she realized the marketplace was in a huge sunlit grove, full of tents of all sizes, and frogs of all colors. There were five tents that dwarfed the others, emblazoned in brighter patches than the rest put together.

Conversations between Keronians and at least a dozen other types of aliens rang happily in the air, intersped with laughter. Offers from barterers competed in the air between them, along with the smells of various types of food and the warm sunlight. All around, people were hanging out with friends, haggling, catching up with old acquaintances, and bragging about great treasures recently found. The sounds somehow combined into a pleasant cacophony, one impossible to not smile at the sight and sound of.

Zeroro turned to face her. Even through the metal mask covering the entire lower half of Zeroro's face, Natsumi could see his smile. Natsumi blinked and raised an eyebrow, slightly defensive that Zeroro found her excitement amusing.

Instead of mocking her, Zeroro held an arm out and gestured at the aliens around them. "Welcome to Town Market. This is the best informed, and, might I add, upbeat place you'll find on Zimontova." Zeroro's eyes kept smiling as Natsumi looked around, smiling again.

"This place is gigantic!"

"Don't worry about most of these shops, many of them only sell junk. There are only five shops here that you need to worry about, at least until you get more specialized." He pointed at the closest shop, a large grey tent in the shape of a headstone. "In that tent is the colony bank. The Keronian who works there is named Dokuku. He doesn't say very much, but, ah," For all of his calm, Zeroro suddenly seemed flustered. He placed his hands protectively over his butt. "Be careful of him getting too _close _to you."

Natsumi blinked, completely unsure what to think of this. She looked over at Dokuku waiting out front, more floating than sitting on the chair he was using. The frog was sheet white, and his eyes were bright blue. Well, eye. One was sewn shut, as was his mouth, and his right arm ended in a nasty looking scythe. Natsumi stared for a long moment, then looked away to avoid making eye contact. Maybe it would be best to avoid him and go use direct deposit instead.

Zeroro continued his tour. "That up ahead is the main store." He pointed at a long, off white rectangle of a tent. There was a brightly colored sign out front, reading 'K&amp;C Market'. The writing was haphazard, as if it had been scrawled by children. "The owners are two sisters named Karara and Chiroro. They're alright kids, if a little spoiled. Their father bought them the store so they could practice their marketing skills. If you ever need to buy or sell anything, they're the best girls for the job."

Natsumi couldn't see inside the tent at all, but judging by the signs around it they had lots of things like Oran Berries, scarves, bow ties, balls, and even useless items like rocks and sticks. She had no idea why someone would sell an item as easily found as sticks or rocks, but they had to make money somehow.

Zeroro pointed at the only building in sight. It was foreboding and grey, with 'Taruru's Law' carved into the stone front. "That building is where you'll receive your reward from any outlaws you capture. Taruru is the captain, in case you ever get the chance to meet him. He's not in often, though, as he's usually working on big cases, and Giroro hardly ever brings in outlaws anyway."

Natsumi nodded, pausing as she played back his words in her head. Giroro was decent fighter. She was sure he'd overpowered at least a few criminals in his time. What could Zeroro mean, that Giroro had never brought an outlaw to this place? "Hey Zeroro, what do you mean-" Natsumi began to ask.

"Just beyond that is Mois, Angol Mois." Zeroro continued on as if he hadn't heard her. "She's the one in charge of storage. If you run out of room carrying items, you can give them to her and she'll keep them in one of her safes. She's a little odd, but kind, and reliable when storing items. I should mention, however, that she looks up to Keroro very much. She's never called him anything but uncle."

Natsumi blinked. Uncle? That stupid frog, an uncle? The pink frog almost shuddered at there being others related to him, let alone siblings that could reasonably be expected to be somewhat similar to him in terms of personality. She looked over Mois and frowned. The other girl looked somewhat human, at least, more than Natsumi did at the present moment. However, she had hair light enough to be called silver, vibrant purple eyes, and an outfit like something out of a cartoon. Plus, she was related to that green moron. Looking human most certainly didn't mean she'd act anything like one.

"Finally, there's Pururu's Restaurant." Zororo's voice softened as he said the name. "If you're ever hungry, low on energy, want some random missions, information, or even some new friends, that's the best place. Giroro gets almost all of his food from there, as do several other people in the guild. A childhood friend of ours is the head chef there, by the way. If you ate with Giroro yesterday, you almost certainly ate her cooking. The restaurant is named after her. I think you'll like her."

"I'll keep that in mind." Natsumi smiled. If she made that food yesterday, she must be a really nice person.

Zeroro glanced around again, returned to standing at ease. "That's everything of interest right now in the marketplace. If you have any questions feel free to ask me or Giroro. Honestly, you can ask anyone here, especially if you wind up…" Zeroro paused. "Um. If you're alone."

The frog finished awkwardly, and Natsumi looked at him. "What do you mean by-"

A small blue boy alien collided into her side, scrambled past her and picked up the pace once again, followed by another blue girl alien. She had no idea how she knew which sex they were, but she didn't have time to contemplate such things. The girl ran after the boy, tossed an apology over her shoulder. "I'm so sorry, but we're in a hurry!" They kept running, headed right towards K&amp;C Market.

"Hey! Watch where you're going next time, alright?" Zeroro shouted after them. He shook his head, nodded at Natsumi. "Silly Maronian kids."

Natsumi managed a smile before the corners of her vision went black. The darkness swelled to dim all the sight she had as her head began to fill with spinning weights, cutting off her hearing from the surrounding world. Soon she couldn't see or hear anything and was tucked soundly in darkness. Though she still couldn't see anything, she could feel cold, damp stone around her, and her hearing came back with the sound of a young male voice.

_Dreams surround our blue-colored lives._

_Softly, they lie dormant in the deeps see, _

_Where there is no wind and no stars._

_Lost, inside darkness _

_if you don't cry and dream, you can go home one day._

Natsumi's vision came back with a rush, and her eyes met Zeroro's confused ones. She was still standing right where she'd been, at nearly the center of the Town Market.

"Are you feeling alright, Natsumi? You look ill."

"Y-Yeah," Natsumi nodded several times too quickly, stumbled on her words. She breathed in deeply, looked at the surrounding crowd. She couldn't hear the voice anymore. "Just now, did you hear singing?"

"It's Market Town. There's always music playing, unless a certain _someone_ shows up."

Natsumi shook her head, determined to get the answer to this mystery before moving onto the one Zeroro had just handed her. "No, I mean a kid singing, live. Not a recording."

"No, I haven't. That doesn't usually happen, either, just the usual music in the background." Zeroro eyed Natsumi, worry creasing his brow. "Are you sure you're alright, Natsumi? If you need to, we can head back."

"No, I'm good. Just a dizzy spell. I want to explore this place a little further, if that's alright." She looked at the K&amp;C Market in front of them, just barely in time to see the blue backs of the children who had collided with her enter.

"Want to price check the items they have already? I'm completely fine with that." Zeroro nodded forward, began moving. "Let's go." The blue frog led the way, turning every few steps to check that the pink frog was still following and hadn't stilled suddenly once more.

Natsumi followed him robotically, her mind on other things. Inside the market, the children were speaking to another set of Keronian girls, ones who could be none other than the owners of the shop. She smiled a bit, supposing kids liked this place as much as adults did.

"Alright, Maru, that puts your total at 150 K-Money!" The small yellow Keronian said, a happy smile on her face.

The Maronian girl handed the coins over with a smile. "Thanks a lot, Chiroro." She nodded at her brother. "Alright, Meru, we have the apples now." She twisted at the waist, handed the other Maronian a full bag.

"Good." Meru said, looking inside the bag. "Thanks a lot! Come on Maru, we need to get going!" Once satiated with the apples, he ran out of the store, almost colliding with Natsumi once more.

"Meru!" Meru called after him, tapping her foot impatiently with his antics.

"You sure have your hands full, don't you Maru?" Chiroro giggled.

Maru nodded, shrugging with a resolute exhaustion. "Yes. Ever since we lost our precious item, we haven't stopped looking for it. I think the loss has been especially hard on Meru." The girl sighed.

"Don't worry! You'll find it soon enough," A lime green frog walked in, demeanor chipper. "If you need any help let us know, okay?"

"Oh! We couldn't possibly, Karara! We bother you enough, and you're already far too kind. We couldn't possibly ask more!" Maru said, flushing.

Chiroro giggled, nudged her friend. "That's what friends are for, Maru." She gestured at the door. "Please do come back, but right now, you should hurry and catch up with Meru before he gets himself in more trouble."

Maru puffed herself up proudly. "He won't if I can help it!" She turned, began to run, but paused with a smile. "Thank you Karara, thank you Chiroro!" The girl then ran out of the store with a quick 'excuse me' to Natsumi and Zeroro.

Karara and Chiroro? Natsumi looked the pair up and down. They were the ones who owned this shop, at least, that's what Zeroro had told her. But, they were _little._

"Good afternoon, girls." Zeroro said, his tone warm, if a little distant.

"Zeroro! Did you come here to shop?" Karara smiled happily as she ran forward, followed closely by her sister. "Who did you bring? Is this your client?"

"No, Karara, you're silly! She's too pretty to be a client! She must be his girlfriend!" Chiroro said, smiling at Natsumi.

"N-No, this isn't my girlfriend, and she's not my client either. This is Natsumi, and she's the newest member of our exploration guild. I'm just her tour guide for today, so she can acclimate herself to our town as quickly as possibly."

Both girls' eyes widen significantly, and they squeal in unison. "AMAZING!"

Natsumi didn't know if this was the proper time for her to speak, but she didn't see another occasion opening up. "Nice to meet you two." She smiled awkwardly.

"How did you do it? How did you join the guild?" Chiroro asked, fists to her chin in an expression dangerously close to swooning.

"You can only join if you're super duper strong and they ask for you, or someone from the guild signs you up specifically!" Karara added.

Natsumi paused. Really? She shrugged. "I'm in the latter category, signed me up, and I just turned in my paperwork this morning."

Both of the sisters' faces paled immediately, and they backed away a moment later. She stared at them in confusion before realizing that the town had gone silent. No more gossip, no more laughter, and the music itself had stilled from the air.

Zeroro sighed. "Speak of the Devil."

The girls cowered behind the counter and Natsumi glanced at them before turning to Zeroro. He was turned away from her, and she followed his gaze to see Giroro walking towards them through the open flaps of the tent. People parted around him like waves, not a single one daring to look him in the eyes. The cheerful atmosphere from bare seconds ago was gone, and in its place was only fear and tension.

"So. This is where you were hiding, Natsumi." Giroro's voice was flat.

"H-Hey Giroro." Zeroro said.

Giroro nodded at him. "Your paperwork is done. You're officially my partner. Congratulations." He held out his hand, a small bag held in it. She took it, looking it over carefully. It was made from leather, and tanned to the color of sand. It was small, but looked hardy- perfect for traveling.

"Are you going to open it any time today?" Giroro raised an eyebrow.

Natsumi shot him a look, tugged at the drawstrings. "Give me a moment." Inside the bag was a rolled up paper, some kind of badge, a small box, and another, smaller pouch.

"The rolled up paper is a map. The box is for items you find, like seeds and berries. The pouch is for your money. Don't lose it, each explorer only gets one."

At the edge of hearing, she heard Karara and Chiroro's horrified whispers.

"She really did sell her soul to the Red Devil!"

"Poor Natsumi, now she's gonna be just another victim."

Giroro glared in their direction viciously, and they yelped, hiding themselves away once again.

Zeroro's voice was cautious and clipped once more. "I take it the tour is over?" His answer was rough, angry grunt. "Right. Take care, Giroro, Natsumi." He turned and left, as professional as ever.

The silence hung in the air for a moment before Natsumi broke it with zero respectful fear for Giroro. "Do you have your own bag?"

"Yes. Meet me back at the crossroads. I need to get supplies." Giroro didn't so much as look at her, instead still glaring at the counter where the two poor girls were hidden.

"Right." She hesitated a moment, began to walk. "Promise you won't eat the girls first, Giroro." That was said half seriously, as the tension in the shop was so thick it could be cut with a knife.

"I won't if they don't give me a reason to." The words were a growl.

"W-Welcome to K-K &amp; C M-Market!" The girls stood up immediately and greeted Giroro, almost a minute late and in a terrified parody of their usual cheerful greeting.

Natsumi frowns. Well know she knows what type of reputation Giroro has. She would stay and help these poor girls not be so terrified, but she doesn't have the first idea how to shop for items. With that in mind, she headed for the crossroads. If she can't be all that useful, she might as well wait. The pink frog walked quickly, quick enough that she managed to spot a now familiar blue back up ahead.

"Hey, Zeroro, wait up!" She broke up into a brief sprint, caught up easily.

"Hello again, Natsumi. I hadn't expected to see you again, at least so soon." He nodded.

"Really? I thought the latest I'd see you would be dinner- after all, we are in the same guild."

Zeroro nodded. "That's true. Giroro doesn't like to be in much contact with the rest of his guild, and especially not the rest of his old platoon members."

Natsumi blinked. "Old platoon members?"

Zeroro froze for a moment. "I shouldn't have mentioned that. Talking about the past is one of the things that makes Giroro angriest. Please forget I said anything."

"I don't know if I'll be able to forget." Natsumi tried to catch Zeroro's gaze, but he avoided her eyes.

"If you insist upon knowing, ask him. Just remember, curiosity killed the tiger horse."

"What's a tiger h-" The pink frog's question was cut off by the sound of a child crying. She looked forward immediately, Zeroro's head turning with hers.

There was a hiccup and a sob, and then Meru was upon them. "You guys are in a guild, right? Please! You have to help m-me! Maru was kidnapped while she was trying to protect me!"

"Sorry, kid, we're not interested." Giroro's bored, gruff voice came from behind them. "We don't do unposted work. Go wait in line like everyone else."

Natsumi turned around with a glare at Giroro, shocked by the cruelty of his words. How the hell could he, could anyone, say that to a little kid?

She felt her hand being tugged and glanced down to meet Meru's set of turquoise eyes, overflowing with tears. At that somehow familiar color, she felt a twist of dizziness in her belly, the same type she'd had when he'd bumped into her earlier. Her knees almost buckled, and she was abruptly surrounded in blackness again.

This time it was different. Instead of darkness, she emerged into a bright yellow light. The feeling she got from the spell, however, was even colder than the one she'd had earlier.

_Two Marionians were clasped tightly in her human arms. Rope was cinched around her waist, keeping her from being dragged into the light, into certain destruction. She had to hold on until they pulled them out. She had to._

_"Natsumi, let go." Meru's voice was soft, as if he'd just woken up. _

_"No! I'm bringing everyone home!" She squeezed tighter, giving her all to not let them go. "I swear, I'm bringing everyone home!" _

_ "Natsumi..." Maru mumbled, tears in her eyes._

_Natsumi felt a hard tug, and she held Meru and Maru even harder as they were slowly but surely pulled away from their doom. _

Natsumi blinked as she held the boy in her arms. She rubbed his back warmly, giving him all the reassurance she had to offer. Her mind was made up even before she caught sight of the red frog staring impassively at them nearby.

Her eyes met Giroro's in a silent challenge, and she saw the resistance there. She also saw his defeat, or convinced herself she did. This was too important to let fall by the wayside.

When she spoke, her voice had no room for discussion.

"We're saving Maru."

A/N: Yo Whats up readers? Sorry for the late upload and everything. So many distractions going on... heheh... Ahem. Anyway I should answer some questions... One of them is that I guess you can call it a cross-over with Pokemon... Because I am using some of the story line of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explores of Sky/Time/Darkness. (Which is a freaking good game) But at the same time I am changing it up and trying to make it original but still following the story line. Kinda. If that makes any I guess that was the biggest question? Who knows. Anywho, I want to thank everyone who wrote reviews. Always makes my day and puts a smile on my face. And of course gives me more motivation to write! But even the follows and likes make me happy to. But thank you for staying so far with the story and expect another chapter! I would say soon BUT I don't know if that promise will be kept. Now lets make this A/N come to an end cuz its soooo long and I'm sure you'd like to get back to the story... whenever it gets posted. heheh... THANKS FOR THE LOVE AND ENJOY THE UPCOMING STORIES AND STUFF! Oh... And a heads up on this chapter and the coming up... Id suggest that you see the Keroro Gunso Movie 2... It might make more sense with some of the characters... And that its a good movie too~ /

B/N: Hello all! Thank you for reading, thank you for the reviews (we both squeal with each new hit, but reviews are simply fantastic), and thank you for your patience! The next chapter is written, albeit unedited. We'll try to get on that soon, or at least I'll try to bully my lovely lovely author friend here to let me edit it. Thanks again, and hope to (see?) you soon!

P.S. Sorry about those technical issues! You'd think we were complete newbs who had…never…written a fanfiction together. Um. Hi.


	4. Square One, Square Two, Square One

**Chapter 4: Square One, Square Two, Square One**

Giroro drummed his fingers impatiently on the storage shop's counter top. That Angol girl hadn't come back for almost ten minutes, and usually took less than that for him to snap and wrap those same fingers around someone's throat. He couldn't believe that they were actually going after that little girl.

There was a list of things the Red Devil had vowed to never do during what he'd dubbed his prison sentence on Zimontova, and rescue missions were near the top of that list. But, that pink pest of a frog simply wouldn't take no for an answer. In short, he was stuck pulling items from his storage unit while the little brat told the whole sob story to Natsumi - _again_ \- because that girl's little boyfriend didn't trust him enough to be around during it. Zeroro had been given the option to stay, and had taken it like the idiot frog he was. From what he could tell, however, Zeroro was at least smart enough to leave after the first retelling. He was still leaving to tell Keroro about the whole mess, though, which made him still an idiot.

Mois' chipper voice interrupted his wrathful reverie. "Alright, Giroro! Here are your two apples, your two Oran berries, and your blast seed! Do you need anything else?"

"That'll do," Giroro growled, sliding the small items off the counter and into his bag.

"Oh, by the way, Giroro!" The red frog bit back a snarl. How the hell was she so annoyingly cheerful at a time like this? "Uncle wanted me to pass on a message about dinner! It's-"

"I won't make any promises."

Mois looked to either side, leaned in for a whisper. For a moment, Giroro hoped that silver haired girl had finally learned the proper fear of him that everyone else in the town had. Alas, it was only to mutter a message to him. "It's for the new member."

Giroro sighed, turned and walked away without looking back, headed for the Cross Roads. Natsumi had told him to meet up with them there, and he'd given them over an hour. She had better be ready to leave already, and she'd better have talked that kid out of coming along with them. If he heard him whine one more time about rescuing the girl, he might just throw him off the cliff the base was in. He had a reputation to upkeep, and if had gotten out that in a moment of weakness that he'd actually said yes…well.

He stalked past a pole of wanted posters, glanced over to see if there was anything good. Out of the jumbled and faded sheets of paper, one stood out. A mustard colored Keronian stared out from a brown hat with tired eyes. His symbol was of a pink Z, and he looked like he was about to fall asleep. Something on the paper caught his eye, something about a thief that hypnotized his victims. Giroro rolled his eyes at the thought and moved past.

In a few minutes he was upon them, Natsumi leaned against a wooden pole, her foot tapping to some unheard beat and Meru standing close by. The Maronian's eyes were turned skyward beseechingly, as if he were trying to figure out just which star had taken his friend away.

Giroro snorted at the thought.

Before he could order the brat to go home, however, the Maronian had taken a breath and begun to sing. Natsumi stilled immediately. In Giroro's mood, he hoped that meant the singing was so terrible that Natsumi would throw him out to sea. It would be a good thing to watch, and he could be certain that there would be no brats on his mission. Giroro, however, was not angry enough to be delusional, and he realized that Natsumi's pause meant she was riveted. To avoid being thrown out to sea again himself, he stayed quiet.

_"__Dreams surround our blue-color lives. Softly, they lie dormant in the deep sea."_

_ "__Where there is no wind and no stars, lost, inside darkness."_ The kid's voice slowed down, but Natsumi kept staring like she was watching a memory. Giroro's knee bounced.

_ "__If you don't cry and dream, you can go home one day." _Meru finally quit singing, but he turned to Giroro's partner, and the red frog could tell from the way he was trembling and the way that he wrapped his arms around himself that he was trying not to cry.

Giroro opened his mouth to butt in, but the small boy began speaking and Giroro forced himself to remember the lesson of patience. Through the calm night air, however, he could hear everything both of them said.

"Maru sang this song whenever we were alone. She always keeps me safe whenever my parents aren't around, but-" Maru hiccuped, "But without her…" The kid sniffed, and Natsumi took the step forward needed to bundle him into her arms. She muttered something in the kid's ear, and Meru's response made Giroro's stomach clench.

"Natsumi, are you sure I can't come along? Maru is my childhood friend. I wanna come along and rescue her! It's not fair that I don't get to do anything."

Natsumi rubbed the child's back. "You will be doing something, Maru. You'll be welcoming her home with a hug and a smile, right? It's going to be dangerous out there, and I'm sure Maru would be mad if she found out you got hurt while trying to save her."

"…Alright. If I have to. I'll- I'll wait here until you come back." Meru nuzzled his face into Natsumi's belly, hugged her tighter, and Giroro spoke up before the brat could change his mind.

"Let's go, Natsumi." Both of those in front of him jumped, and Giroro didn't bother hiding a smirk.

Either Natsumi didn't notice or didn't care as she gave Meru one last squeeze and stood. "Right. We'll be back soon, Meru, and I promise, Maru will be with us." She offered a smile in parting as she fell into step next to Giroro, headed east.

Meru nodded, but as they rounded a corner, he shouted a last thing to them. "Don't let your guard down!"

"See you soon!" Natsumi turned with a wave, but Giroro ignored the kid. He didn't know if the kid meant both of them, but he had a nagging suspicion the warning was for Natsumi, and not about anyone they might encounter together on the trip. He ignored it. It was too late to bicker with the brat, anyway.

**XxXxXxXxX**

The moon was bright enough that it made the dirt path they were walking almost shine beneath their feet. It wound up a hill that was almost barren of trees, and Natsumi felt that if they were to take the smallest break, they could see for miles. Giroro, however, was storming ahead at full speed, still irritated and embarrassed at the way he'd let Meru manipulate him earlier. She sighed and caught up to his side. She'd been debating mentioning it, but now that they were alone, it was far too important to let slip.

"Giroro, I think I knew Maru and Meru."

"What?" Giroro's response was grumpy, but he tilted his head enough to catch a glimpse of her.

"I saw them. In what seemed like a dream, and it happened twice."

Giroro snorted, his bad mood threatening to return. "A dream?"

Natsumi shot him a look. "Not a dream, a dream. I wasn't asleep. It was more of a…vision. It happened when I touched them the first two times. The first time was when Meru ran into me. I didn't see him, exactly, but I know I heard his voice. He was singing the same song that he did before we left him earlier."

"How do you know he wasn't singing then, too?" Giroro turned his attention back ahead.

Natsumi shook her head in irritation. "No, he couldn't have been! I asked Zeroro if he'd heard singing, and he hadn't. It was dark, and damp, like my eyes were covered, and it was cold, too!" Natsumi hugged herself. "My legs were too heavy to move, and I got dizzy like I have been whenever I've been getting flashes of memory."

"Are you sure you just didn't hear another kid?" His gaze was ahead, but Natsumi was sure his attention was on her.

"I guess I could have. Maybe. But later, when Meru held my hands, I felt the same thing, and I was holding Meru and Maru in my arms. In my _human_ arms. There was a yellow…thing, in front of us, and we were being pulled in."

"And I said to them something about everybody going home," Natsumi continued, now mumbling almost just to herself. "They might have known me, when I was human. They might even know something about me." Her voice got louder, and she looked at Giroro with the slightest hint of hope.

"And if they don't? Look, Natsumi, no one here knows any Pekoponians. If they did, they wouldn't be in this backwater of a colony." He glanced at her. He was being harsh, and he knew it. Or at least he felt like he was being so, and he had no idea why the hell he cared.

Natsumi let his words hang in the air for a moment, and then she answered with determination. "I'm going to ask them anyway. Not asking won't help anything at all."

Giroro pushed the thought to the back of his mind, along with the blush that had once again sprung up along his rubbery frog cheekbones. "Do whatever you want." He picked up his pace, not caring if he left Natsumi a few feet behind him.

Soon enough, they arrived at a tall, sharp mountain, topped with crystalized snow. The path led halfway up it and to a cave, one Natsumi recognized immediately as a Mystery Dungeon. She looked to comment at Giroro, saw him place a small metal plate by the cave's entrance.

He noticed her look. "This plate is our ticket out. Once we've found the kid, we use our badges to teleport here instead of finishing the whole thing." He lifted his badge, pointed at a few of the buttons. "Click this once to send someone else back. Click it twice, and it'll teleport you here."

Natsumi blinked. "Why didn't we just use this when we went through our first Mystery Dungeon?"

Giroro grunted. "You didn't have a badge, and I didn't set up the plate. I wasn't exactly expecting a pink frog to barge right after me. If you hadn't come in, I would have been perfectly fine."

"Yeah, perfectly fine getting your butt kicked." Natsumi's retort came immediately, and she saw Giroro bristle with a response.

"And I take it that means it's somehow my fault I didn't know about these Mystery Dungeons either?" Natsumi cut him off, exhaled in a sigh and cut him off again. They were on a mission; they didn't have time for this.

"You know what? We can argue about your lack of preparedness _after _we save the kid. Come on!" She wheeled, stalked towards the entrance.

Giroro rolled his eyes back as far as he could go. Immature, headstrong, violent, and far too much like him for her to be remotely likeable. Giroro grunted, narrowed his eyes, and followed closely behind her. Maybe that was a good thing.

It didn't take long for them to reach the second floor. On the first, Natsumi had found rocks that were the perfect size and shape for throwing at faraway enemies, and a handful of seeds that she'd seen in the K&amp;C Market.

According to Giroro, she had a few different types. Luckily for her, the person who had named these had as much self-explanatory creativity as the person who had named Beach Cave. There were sleep seeds, which were for throwing unless the person who found it was either an idiot or an insomniac, quick seeds, which made a person unbelievably fast, and a strange yellow orange seed that Giroro had taken from her immediately to put in a small box in his nearly empty explorer's bag. He had more than enough space, as he'd only found a few berries and some change lying on the ground, and that sort of seed needed the room. They were called blast seeds. If you threw them, you caused explosions. If you ate them, you breathed fire, or so Giroro said. As cool as that sounded, Natsumi would let him try that first.

Aside from seeds, Natsumi found enough goodies to almost completely fill her bag. Some lengths of rope, right now useless but undoubtedly good for getting her out of pinches later. More Oran berries and little blue orbs that were shaped similarly but dried up water instead of gave health, and a small trinket that was designed for detecting traps. Apparently there were other trinkets in the world as well, ones that were dedicated to helping explorers find the next flight of stairs or paralyzing enemies, but neither she nor Giroro found any of those.

"Why would explorers leave traps behind them anyway?"

Giroro chuckled darkly. "Less competition and easier treasure hoarding. Some just find it funny."

Natsumi shook her head, looking warily at the pale stone walls. "So much for you being the only trigger happy explorer. Do these trap detectors really work?"

"Yes, and it's a good thing they do. Some of those traps could kill or you or your client before either of you had time to blink. And if you lose the client, you fail the mission, which means no money and a reputation as a weakling who can't get anything done." He smirked a bit. "Most of the explorers who do it for fun leave safe traps behind, though. Like warp tiles, which just move you around, or rock tiles that just make you trip."

"And the ones who do it out of greed leave behind what, then?"

Giroro listed off the next few items more like they were minor inconveniences than deadly weapons. "Poison gas tiles, self destruct tiles, there are at least ten of the things. Just because the other tiles are more stupid than deadly isn't an excuse to walk around like you own the place, but you can't literally watch every step you take. Either one is asking to lose your client or the treasure."

"And we can't lose Maru. Got it. What happens if one of us steps on a warp tile or something like it?"

Giroro smirked. "You mean if you step on one? If that happens, meet me at the staircase. If I get there first, I'll wait there for you."

Natsumi nodded. "I'll see you there, after _you_ get warped away."

By the time they hit the fifth floor, neither Giroro nor Natsumi felt much for conversation. They'd been in there for a long time, and both by that time were hoping that Maru was still alive and focused on finding her whether or not that was the case. Aside from that, every turn they made seemed to be into a dead end corridor.

It was at another dead end tile that Natsumi heard a click beneath her feet. She looked down in time to see the tile beneath her come to life with purple swirls.

"Damn pink frog-" Giroro's curse was cut off as he vanished from Natsumi's sight.

In the span of a blink, Natsumi was somewhere else. It was a smaller room, and it also was a dead end. She sighed. Or course she had to be the one to step on a stupid warp tile. She shook her head, continued moving. Some of the halls she passed were ones she'd already seen with Giroro, and she knew each of them ended in dead ends. She moved past them and soon wound up at a new hallway and followed it through a large room, and then back to the hallway. She made it to the next room and almost began swearing herself. Giroro stood there smugly, right next to the staircase leading deeper into the dungeon.

"I was wondering if you'd gotten yourself eaten, it took you so long to get here." Giroro glanced at the staircase, too focused to tease Natsumi…much. "Hurry it up. You've already wasted at least ten minutes."

With that, Giroro headed down the stairs, leading a steaming Natsumi behind him.

**XxXxXxXxXx**

Elsewhere, a small shriek was accompanied by a completely ineffective yanking of the arm. "L-Let go of me!" Maru pulled as hard as she could until a sharp slap echoed throughout the large chamber. Maru's face was abruptly facing the other side of the room, and she could feel the bright red pattern of a Keronian hand imprinting itself on her cheek. She fell quiet for a brief moment, her vision blurring with tears.

"Do I have to remind you again, little girl? You took that boy's place willingly. You decided to 'sacrifice' yourself for him, so he could stay safe at home on this little adventure. _You_ decided to follow after me, yipping at my heels like some little dog." The words were a growl, close enough for Maru to feel the yellow Keronian's horrible breath waft over her face.

Maru scrubbed her tears away, looked back up with a fierce glare for the Keronian in front of her. "Because _you _said you found his item! You got his hopes up, and I couldn't put him in danger. I was right when I told him not to come, too, because look where I am now!" At least she'd been right about that. She had to protect the prince, after all, no matter the cost.

The yellow Keronian before her burst out laughing, continuing to drag her along. She didn't know how he could move so fast, as the dark circles underneath his eyes broadcast to anyone that he was constantly tired, if the pink Z on his hat and large belly didn't do it before that.

"It's too bad you weren't in the right enough to be smart enough to not trust strangers. You're so desperate to find that item, aren't you? Just as I'm desperate, using a kid like you to get my treasure. You know what they say, though," The Keronian said, towing Maru along roughly behind her, "Desperation loves company."

At their quick pace, it wasn't long before they reached the Keronian's destination: a large rock face, solid and foreboding but for a small black hole cut deep within the rock.

Maru's heart began racing immediately. "H-help!" She began to struggle in earnest again. "Help me! H-HELP ME!"

The Keronian began laughing again, jerking Maru back to his side. "Very funny, little girl. Do you really think someone is going to come and save you? No one knows you're here, aside from that little boy of yours. Even if he had the money, and even if he sent it, it would take two days for the job to be approved and still another for it to be posted on the job board." He chortled. "But please, scream all you want, unless you want to spare both of our eardrums. No one is coming to save you, and no one will. You're completely alone."

Maru froze at his words, couldn't help but let her shoulders drop. No matter how strongly she fought it, she realized he was right. No one was coming to save her. No one could come save her. She felt a pit of bleak loneliness in the depths of her stomach as she stared into the hole ready to swallow her up.

She had just resolved herself to take that first terrible step forward when a call from the other side of the room made her turn. There in the doorway stood the pink frog Meru had run into at Market Town, and the Maronian stared in confusion for a moment before realizing that she had to be an explorer.

"Maru is not alone! In fact, she has someone waiting for her to come back home, and that someone sent us to come save her from you!"

The yellow Keronian snarled immediately, shoving Maru behind him. "Who are you?!"

The Red Devil was beside the pink frog, and Maru immediately felt a chunk of ice slide down her gut. His glare wasn't aimed at her, however, but at the Keronian half hidden behind her. He took a step forward and smirked viciously. "That doesn't matter. You, however, are Drowzeze, charged with with 23 confirmed kidnappings, 12 explorer murders, and the deaths of 10 civilians. You're wanted for 30,000 K-Money."

The yellow Keronian, Drowzeze grinned again, and Maru could feel his grip tighten on her wrists. "Good job, little one. Someone seems to have done their homework on me. If I may ask, what brings an exploration team all the way out here?"

Natsumi took a step forward, her hands on her hips. "We came to bring Maru back home."

Drowzeze chortled. "What, you two want to do that? Am I supposed to be scared?" His laughter rose in volume, and his belly began to jiggle. "If my bounty is so high, then why am I on the loose? Every puny team your organization sends out, I kill. Trust me; you'll never bring me justice."

Giroro let out a snarl, took a step forward. "The Red Devil doesn't bring justice, Drowzeze. I bring death."

For the first time, Drowzeze showed something distantly related to fear. "Y-you can't be the Red Devil. He works alone!" He looked from the pink frog to Giroro again, looked solely at Giroro. "He's never taken a job off the job board, either!"

He looked between them again, stilled himself, and began to laugh once more. "I see what this is. A partner? A job too impossibly fresh to even be on the board?" His grin went cruel. "You are a fake! A sad impersonation of the real thing. I've dealt with people like you. Claiming to be the Red Devil himself right up until just before the moment the life leaves their eyes." Drowzeze reached into a pocket on his side, pulled out a few seeds.

Giroro growled, glanced at Natsumi. "You get the girl and I'll get the criminal. Make sure she's not watching." He stalked towards the yellow Keronian as Natsumi made a run for Maru. Her feet hadn't even crossed half the expanse of the room when the small blue alien collided with her chest.

Natsumi bent so she could hold the Maronian warmly. She rubbed Maru's back as the small girl's body was wracked with sobs.

"T-Thank you," The girl got the words out between sniffs, and Natsumi held her a little tighter.

"You don't need to thank me just yet, Maru. We still need to get you home to Meru."

Natsumi glanced behind her to check on Giroro's side of the room. Her stomach dropped, and she couldn't help the quiet gasp of horror that escaped her lips.

Drowzeze was curled up on the grey rock beneath him, letting out quiet whimpers as Giroro's foot collided repeatedly with his gut. Giroro responded to a cry of pain with a dark chuckle, kicked again. This time, it was hard enough for Natsumi to hear the thud, and she didn't realize that she'd released Maru or that she was running until she was tackling Giroro to the ground.

They landed hard on the cold stone floor, and Giroro let out a growl. "What the hell?"

"I'm the one that should be asking that, idiot! You already beat the crap out of him, he already gave up! We don't need to kill him, so why are you trying to?!"

Giroro snarled up at the pink frog half straddling him. "He's killed almost too many people for me to count. Do you expect me to ignore that? An eye for an eye!"

Natsumi snorted. "Yeah, an eye for an eye. Makes the world go blind." Her glared deepened. "If that's true, then you're gonna wind up the same way, because all you seem to do is want to get killed. Do you want that, Giroro? Are you expecting to get killed because you killed him?"

There was a pause in which Drowzeze let out a quiet moan. No one looked over. Natsumi was too busy staring at Giroro, who said nothing. He chose instead to look away, and his defiance towards responding confirmed Natsumi's accusation.

"You idiot! That's why you're being so ruthless? So careless?! Damn it Giroro, you want to die?!"

Giroro glared up. "That's none of your stupid business."

Natsumi's mouth dropped open, and she fought the urge to punch the red frog's stupid self destructive face. "Yes it is, Giroro! I'm your partner. You promised me that you would help me, and from what I've seen, it's not like you've figured out what that damn key opens yet either!" The urge to beat up Giroro turned into one to cry, and she let out a furious sniffle.

"It really looks like you're just being a giant crybaby right now, Giroro. So you know." Natsumi gave up as a tear threatened to fall. She got up and sat with her back to him, wiping her tears away as angrily and discreetly as possible. Giroro was being the baby here, not her, so why couldn't she stop crying?! "What could have happened that's so bad that you want to kill people until they come kill you? That's really stupid."

Giroro sat up the moment he was able, and his expression didn't soften in the slightest at Natsumi's tears. "Don't fucking assume my goals, Natsumi. You couldn't understand them if you tried." He stood up. The frog was a dark shadow over Natsumi, one that glared down without a modicum of pity.

Natsumi sniffed, wiped away her tears, and glared up just as harshly. "Just like I said, you're being a big baby. Someone has to care about you, idiot, so you can't go trying to get yourself killed. That's just how that stuff works."

Behind the both of them, Drowzeze let out another whimper, and far behind them, Maru gripped her upper arms in fear. This was it, the moment that the Red Devil finally snapped and hurt that nice pink frog that had rescued her. The small Maronian couldn't hear what they were saying, but it looked lethal.

Natsumi shook her head at Giroro's continued glare and silence, began to make her way to her feet. "Moron. What even do you mean, that no one cares? Honestly, Giroro-"

She paused as she looked up at the red frog's face. His eyes were the most narrowed the pink frog had ever seen, and his expression was twisted so far that he almost looked unrecognizable. He made a bit of a choking noise, and snarled.

Natsumi reached out a hand to figure out exactly what was wrong with Giroro when the frog spoke.

"My brother is dead," He ground out.

With that, the red frog stalked away, giving Drowzeze a last savage kick before he yanked his badge out of his pouch and ignoring the way Natsumi suddenly sat back down. He glanced up, saw Maru still crying in a heap on the floor. He rolled his eyes at the sight, walked over anyway.

"S-stay away from me!" She hiccuped. She looked to either side of herself desperately, like she was seeking a rescuer from her rescuer.

Giroro squatted next to her impatiently. "I'm doing my job here, brat. You're being sent to the entrance of the cave, and you're going to wait there for us so we can take you home to your little boyfriend. Nice and safe and sound."

Maru shook her head, pointed around at Natsumi. "I want her to do it! Not you!"

Giroro set his teeth. "Fine." He walked back over to Natsumi. She looked up as he approached, and Giroro thought he saw something in those brown eyes. His own eye twitched. Pity. How fantastic.

"Get your badge out and take the kid to the entrance. I'll meet you there with this sack of shit." Giroro aimed his badge at first Drowzeze, then himself, and a few glowing arches of light later, both were gone.

Natsumi shook herself from her reverie as she heard Maru crying softly. She stood again, ignoring the strange weakness in her knees, and helped Maru to her feet. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

Maru shook her head, rubbing at her eyes a bit. "I'm f-fine." She sniffed twice, loudly, and Natsumi couldn't help but smile.

"Let's go home. Meru is waiting for you."

Maru's knuckles dropped from her eyes in an instant, and the Maronian nodded eagerly. Natsumi's smile widened, just a little, and she flashed her teleporter's light on Maru. The girl vanished instantly, and Natsumi was then alone.

The pink frog gave her a moment to look around the bottom room of her second completed Mystery Dungeon before hitting the button again, this time twice.

XxXxXxXxX

Natsumi cradled a dozing Maru in her arms as she led the way back to town. Giroro was a few steps behind them, and Drowzeze was being dragged a few steps behind him by a rope Giroro kept clenched tight in one fist.

As they rounded the last bend that led to the crossroads, Natsumi noted flashing red, white and blue lights painting both the trees and the dark sky above them. She glanced back at Giroro, who did nothing but grunt in irritation back. As usual, it seemed like she'd just have to wait and see what those meant.

As they continued moving, the pole became visible. Next to it stood the tiny blue fidgeting figure recognizable even from a distance as Meru, a frog who had to be Zeroro, and a bright green figure who could be nothing but the absolutely charming idiot known as Keroro. They were all facing a light blue frog with a white hat, and although she was still too far to make out his symbol, she was close enough to hear his voice screaming out orders for other Keronians to get into place.

Natsumi continued eyeing the scene. The lights came from several cars dotting the clearing. One of the cars was blocky and white, and Natsumi was pretty sure that type of car was called an ambulance.

They were close enough to see that the light blue frog had a yellow and orange bisected tear drop on his belly and freckles before anyone noticed they had arrived.

Unsurprisingly, Meru noticed them first. He let out a squeal when he spotted Maru in Natsumi's arms, and the girl stirred immediately. She heard more than saw Meru running towards them. Her eyes opened wide, and she began to struggle fiercely, determined to get out of Natsumi's arms. Natsumi set her down, and the girl began running almost before her feet hit the ground. The kids ran straight into each other's arms with almost enough force to knock them both to the ground, but they each stayed upright to wipe the tears off of the other's face.

"Maru! Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened to your face?" Meru cupped the slap mark on Maru's cheek with a small hand, eyes frantic.

Maru smiled at Meru, covered his small hand with her slightly larger one. "I'm fine. Or at least, I'm fine now. It's thanks to these explorers." She glanced behind her at Natsumi and Giroro.

The blue frog with the white hat stepped forward as Natsumi and Giroro took the last few steps into the clearing. "Impressive once again, Red Devil." He nodded at the ambulance. "If you would put the body properly in its bag and fill out the necessary paperwork-"

"It's still alive, Taruru," Giroro interrupted.

"What?" Taruru missed a beat, then glared. "Don't you think that joke is getting a little old?"

Giroro rolled his eyes and picked up Drowzeze, throwing the yellow Keronian at Taruru's feet. Drowzeze let out a pathetically pained moan as he landed, and Taruru jumped violently, taking the one step back he could without colliding with one of his police officers.

Giroro snorted. "Since when have I joked, Taruru?"

Taruru stared at Giroro with wide eyes. "H-how? This impossible! My entire time on the force, you have not a single time brought an outlaw in alive. How?!"

Her arms still wrapped around Meru, Maru pointed at Natsumi. "She made him stop."

Natsumi felt the air still, and she glanced around at the grove, suddenly filled with eyes that were far too busy filling themselves with her.

"Who even is that? Who are you?" Taruru crossed his arms, tried to hide the fact that he was still on the far side of flabbergasted.

Natsumi opened her mouth, only to be interrupted by a particular green idiot. "Officer Taruru, this is Natsumi. She's Giroro's new partner, as of, oh, um." Keroro trailed off in an attempt to remember. "Hm. When did she join again?" He trailed off again and raised a knuckle to his lips, thinking hard. He'd be silent for the rest of the conversation, and for some time after that.

"What?" Taruru glanced between Keroro and Natsumi in shock, then desperately to Zeroro for answers.

The blue frog simply nodded. "It's true, Officer Taruru. Natsumi just joined the guild."

Taruru eyed her for a moment, walked closer. His eyes traveled top to bottom, back up, and down again quickly before focusing on her face. He saluted abruptly, feet together, and his chest puffed out. "I am Officer Taruru! I work at Taruru's Law, where I take care of outlaws by locking them up where they belong. It's very nice to meet you, Natsumi."

Natsumi stared at this little display for a moment before realizing she should probably respond in kind. She offered a wave. "Er, it's nice to meet you too, Officer Taruru."

Social nicety dispensed with, Taruru wasted no time in leaning forward, murmuring something quiet close to Natsumi's ear. "If I may ask, how in the world did you stop that good for nothing Red Devil from murdering that outlaw?"

Natsumi blinked. "All I did was tackle him?"

Taruru leaned back, eyes wide again. "That can't be it. The Red Devil is well known to be both ruthless and evil. A simple tackle stopping him when his nose smells blood? Impossible."

Giroro grunted, suddenly by Natsumi's side. "Hey, Taruru, why don't you shut the hell up and finish your job? I'd like to get home."

Taruru brought himself to his full height. "That's _Officer_ Taruru to you, Red Devil. And one day, I will bring you to justice." The light blue frog turned around to the rest of the frogs in the clearing, yelling orders. Moments later, Drowzeze was being lifted into the ambulance and receiving desperately needed medical attention.

Giroro grabbed Natsumi's arm and yanked it half out of its socket, pulling her behind him towards the two Maronians still hugging by the edge of the clearing. They looked up as the two Keronians' shadows covered them, and at the sight of the Red Devil, both looked away in fear.

"What the hell are you doing, Giroro," Natsumi growled under her breath.

"Kids." Giroro focused his glare on them. "Natsumi has some questions. Since you two are dirt poor and can't pay your fee, you get to answer them. Be honest, or else you get to answer to me."

The Maronians nod in a mix of terror and understanding. "Y-yes sir!"

"Y-yes sir!" they both chores. With that, Giroro let go of Natsumi and walked a little off where he was still at ear shot, but enough to give her privcy. He also made sure that no one came near them.

Natsumi glanced after Giroro, but she couldn't help a small chuckle. "Sorry about that. I guess he's still a little cranky about earlier."

Maru smiled. "It's alright." She looked down a bit. "Besides, he's right. The Red Devil, I mean. We can't pay our fee, but I promise you, we'll answer the best we can!"

"Thank you, guys. Now, the question I need to ask is probably going to sound a little strange, but please bear with me, okay?"

"We can handle it!" Meru smiled, still stubbornly clutching Maru's hand.

Natsumi nodded. There was a knot in her gut, but she didn't let it make her hestitate. "Have either of you ever met a human?"

Meru and Maru glanced at each other, and back at Natsumi uncertainly.

"It's alright, guys. You can tell me, I promise," Natsumi urged.

The kids looked at each other again, and Maru shook her head. "I'm sorry, Natsumi, but we haven't. We were rescued by Keronians when they took over Pekopon, but never once have we ever met a human.

"I see." Natsumi's heart sank, but she smiled back and internally shook herself. "Anyway. I'm glad you guys are back together."

"Thank you so much for saving her!" Meru smiled widely, then remembered ceremony and bowed deeply. He was so short, his forehead almost touched the ground. "She is very important to me."

Maru blushed. "Meru!"

Natsumi chuckled. "You two keep each other safe from now on, okay? And Meru, someday I would like to hear you sing that song again."

"Of course!" Meru's eyes sparkled happily.

Giroro was far enough to not have heard much of what was said, but he smiled a little at the trio's laughter. It faded to his usual scowl as he saw Drozeze being carried away by Taruru's crew, and the lights of the cars getting smaller as they moved towards Market Town. A drop of water landed on his hat and slid down his face, and the frog looked up at the grey clouds that were slowly but ominously rolling in. It looked like tomorrow would see nothing but storm.

**xXxxXxxXx**

"This morning!" Keroro yelled. He looked around. There wasn't anyone in the office with him, so he couldn't tell them the important news. He frowned. What was the important news again?

**xXxxXxxXxx**

Natsumi draped her damp towel over the rack as she left the bathroom. She hated to admit it, but Giroro had been beyond right. She felt so much better after that hot shower. It was like everything horrible she'd seen and heard that day had been nothing but a bad dream.

The pink frog padded into the living room. There was the usual assortment of paperwork covering every surface, and a Giroro in the center of it, settled onto one end of the couch. The red frog glanced at Natsumi out of a pair of wire framed glasses, which he removed a moment later and set aside. He looked away after a long moment. Natsumi hadn't said a single word since they'd been dismissed by Keroro, and that had been a while ago. He'd hoped the shower would get her hopes up again, but she was apparently still not speaking. He moved some papers from a section of the couch so she could sit down without comment.

She did so, listening to the echoing booms of the thunder outside. She glanced at Giroro for a moment, held back the questions building in her, the ones about his brother. There was no tie between her and him, however, so she it wasn't her place to ask.

The top of the paper stack was a happy image of her two favorite Maronian children. Without hesitating, she scooped it up, a smile crossing her face. A moment later, however, the smile disappeared.

Giroro had apparently noticed that smile fade. "Back to square one, huh?"

Natsumi nodded, still holding the photograph. "Yeah. I was sure they had some answers to who I used to be, to how I got here." She gripped the picture the tiniest bit harder, watched the light on it wrinkle. "Does this mean that all of my visions were just in my head? At this rate, I won't ever know anything about myself."

Giroro cleared his throat loudly. "Enough. Enough gloomy. With you being this pathetic, you won't accomplish anything. I didn't sign up with you for you to mope around." He glared at her. "If you're going to be like that, get out. Elsewise, stand back up and let's figure out your damn past."

Natsumi paused for a moment, set the picture carefully down on the table and looked at it for a long moment. Then she smiled fiercely at Giroro. "You're right. There's no time for moping!"

Her answer was a grunt, but Natsumi wasn't dissuaded. She leaned forward to see the other materials on the table. A tattered letter and a few old books caught her eye, and she looked from them to her partner.

He, still watching her, nodded. "Go ahead."

Natsumi casually flipped through the book, letting the pages rest at one most folded open. There was a sketched image on the page, and both corners were dog-eared. The image was a small gear, one far too ornate to fit in any type of machine she'd seen, or at least any type of machine that she remembered seeing. It was a pale blue, with six arrows pointing to the center from each tooth. Her eyes followed the arrows, and she felt herself being drawn toward the image. She stared hard at it. There was something about this gear, something important. Something she needed.

"Natsumi?" Giroro cleared his throat, and Natsumi started. She'd been staring into space.

"Have you seen that before?" Giroro gestured towards the image, an eyebrow raised.

"No, never."

"That's what I thought. You don't even know the story, do you?" Giroro's tone was tired, not snarky, so Natsumi merely nodded.

"They're called Time Gears, and they keep this world alive." Giroro stopped at Natsumi's sudden snort, his eyes narrowing. "What?"

"Time Gears?" Natsumi couldn't help a giggle. "Wow. Yet another time this world has the most creative names."

Giroro growled, and Natsumi let the smile slowly fall off of her face in courtesy.

"The Time Gears are too important to joke about, Natsumi. They're the only reason you or I are alive right now, and the only reason anybody on this planet even is." He nods at the book. "The next page shows what they're for. They're the main components in a machine beyond even Keronian technology." Giroro's voice seemed to soften as he continued speaking, and Natsumi felt herself being drawn into the story just as she had been into the image a few minutes earlier.

"We found the Gears when we took over the planet, and they've been studied ever since. They're still beyond our tech, even though we're the most advanced civilization we know about. I don't know the whole story. No one does. But no one removes the gears, and for years, everyone's been too much of a coward to get too close. People are too scared, and definitely too scared to try to remove them again."

Natsumi looked a question at Giroro, and he grunted. "Half the frogs from the first expedition were found dead after they tried that."

Natsumi's eyes widened, and Giroro continued.

"Yeah. We only know about them because the video feed from the second expedition that was sent in. That was a couple of hours before their feed cut out, too. No one's gone in since, so those idiots' bones are probably still lying there, unless the frogs that went missing moved them. I doubt it, though. They were probably just as dead somewhere else."

The smile on Natsumi's face was long gone. "Where do the Gears rest?"

Giroro shrugged. "Who knows. There's rumors, of course. One in a massive forest out west, one drowned in an underground lake, even one in a volcano. Those rumors are the same ones saying frogs die from getting too close, though, so criminals don't get close. Not even the worst ones. I've never had a reason to get closer to any of them than I am right now."

**XxXxXxXxX**

Elsewhere, rain was also falling. The skies shone light on the forest they were emptying themselves on with vicious flashes of lightning. They illuminated a lone figure weaving between the trees with a skateboard. Soon enough, the figure came to their apparent destination. A factory abandoned, the windows left intact for lack of stones and the walls slowly falling apart for lack of care.

A chance flash of lightning struck a tree nearby, and the quickly extinguished flame shone on a boy as he tossed his skateboard to the side. By the same light, he opened a small bag, and as the flame died, a flashlight gave him all the light he needed.

He made it through the shadow-strewn building, avoiding both old bones and broken machinery until he came upon a huge machine, still lit from the inside with a blue glow.

He opened the hatch with quick movements, and light poured out. A bright gear was inside, ticking as regularly as one inside a clock. His eyes followed it hungrily as a small smile played on his lips.

The boy opened his satchel again, pulled out a sketchpad and pen, both completely normal but for the orange swirl on the end of the pen. He marked a few lines quickly, tore the paper and tossed it behind him. As it moved towards the ground it morphed. Before it hit the ground, the paper was no more, and in its place was a hoverbike.

"Hello, Time Gear. I've finally found you." The boy smirked, reached for the gear and easily lifted it out of place. "You get to be the very first of a very, very many."

**XxXxXxXxXXxXxXxXxX**

**A/N: **I Love you fans! My love for all of you is so big that I make you wait forever. Nah. I was just lazy. And playing games. But another reason was because of work and school. But enough excuses. Instead you guys get a long chapter to make up for the waiting... Am I forgiven? And you guys won't have to wait forever again (I hope) but I already have up to chapter 8 roughly written and just needs to be edited. Yeah... Yay~ Anyway I want to thank everyone for reading to this point and I hope you guys still remember what happened. Also if you hadn't seen the second movie you might not noticed some reference this story made. And the up coming chapters will involve the third movie too. Other then that, THANK YOU again for reading this fanfiction and the love you guys leave me in the comments. The follows and favorites still make my day. I just hope you guys still stick around to the very end~ THANK YOU Internet love for everyone!

**B/N:** So you all know, I blame myself utterly for the incredible time between the last update and this. Well, at least, I blame myself and my computer. The fan broke. It was terrible. Plus school, work, bla bla bla, the author already said this. Anyway! Henry (said computer) works again, so now I will too. I have to catch up on the three chapters the one above me wrote in my absence, after all. See y'all soon, yo.


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